"..I've coached the greatest. And he's one of the most special players I've been around." PSU head coach Bill O'Brien on Michael Mauti.

STATE COLLEGE- Michael
Mauti writhed in pain Saturday afternoon as he laid on the Beaver Stadium
turf, grasping his left knee near the 30-yard line, just over a year and one
month removed from the second knee injury of his collegiate career last September.
Mauti, already engaged with Indiana offensive lineman Collin Rahrig mid-way
through the first quarter, had his knee bent awkwardly inward after Indiana
running back D'Angelo Roberts crashed into him low, and so there he laid, the
way he did in week four of the 2011 season against Eastern Michigan, waiting
for a cart to take him for evaluation.

Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti stands with teammates during the singing of the Alma Mater following the Lions' 45-22 win over Indiana. Mauti sustained an injury to his left knee during the first quarter.
JOE HERMITT, The Patriot-NewsJOE HERMITT, The Patriot-News

Tears streamed down the senior outside linebackers' face as he stood with his teammates to sing the alma
mater moments after the Nittany Lions finished up a 45-22 victory over Indiana.
His mother, Nancy, struggled to contain hers' as the final moments ticked off
in another victory that Mauti couldn't finish. They welled in the eyes of
defensive coordinator Ted Roof, who spoke with a crackly, soft tone while
discussing what the Mandeville, Louisiana product meant to him during his first
year transition in State College.

"I'm
sick. I love that kid. That kid has meant a lot to us and me personally, and I
have the utmost respect for him," Roof said. "From day one, meeting one, our
relationship has got nothing but stronger and stronger, and I totally trust
him."

The extent of the injury is unknown, but as Mauti hobbled on
crutches to the back of the Nittany Lions bench during the second half Saturday, he was embraced by his teammates, while his
parents were comforted by lettermen, men that long before Mauti's days in Blue
and White lighted the path for the model player that the senior has become.

"I can't really give you an update; We meet on all the
injuries early in the week, so I don't know the diagnosis," O'Brien said after
the game.

"All I can say is that in your career, you know, as
fortunate as I've been to be around some very special players;I've coached the greatest. And he's one of the most special
players I've been around.

"This whole senior class has a lot of special guys, and he
embodies what Penn State is all about."

Senior full back Michael Zordich may speak to Mauti's
character best. The two first met when both visited University Park for a
Junior Day event, and began an instant friendship. Their relationship has only
continued to grow since then.

"Obviously it hurts to see him go down. That's an
understatement," Zordich said. "But it is what it is, and we're going to be
there to support him no matter what."

And then there are stories like the one from redshirt sophomore
linebacker Mike Hull, who explored the possibility of leaving the program over
the summer when NCAA sanctions hammered the program in July, but opted to latch
onto Mauti's message and stay with the program.

"He really helped me by talking to me and seeing how I felt
about the whole thing, and he helped me grow in a lot of ways on the field,"
Hull said.

"I was looking at Pitt, and I was deciding to go or stay,
and he kind of swayed my decision to stay,"

"He told me how much I meant to the team, and how much
playing time I'd get in the future, and it just made me realize a lot of
things. It was huge, and I kind of owe a lot of it to him for helping me to
stay."

Regardless of whether Saturday's stop of Indiana running back Isaiah Roundtree was the
final of Mauti careers, or if he can return for Senior Day next weekend against
Wisconsin, his resolve from one knee injury that ended his 2009 season before it began and
another that cut short his 2011 season, and the role he played in
shaping and bonding this Penn State football team, is the way he will be
remembered. His career will be defined by the stories of his leadership,
friendship, and responsibility,
not by statistics and awards. And for Michael Mauti, that's the way
it should be.